Nano CT scanner installed in Qatar for better oil recovery

A Denmark-based global oil company has installed the Middle East's first nano CT scanner in Qatar for enhancing oil recovery at one of the world's most complex offshore oilfields.
Maersk Oil's nano CT scanner will produce high resolution 3D images of the carbonate reservoir rocks in Qatar's Al Shaheen field, allowing Maersk Oil Qatar (MOQ) scientists and engineers to better understand and predict reservoir properties.
Together with the Australian National University, MOQ has developed the nano CT scanner that combines nanometre resolution with sample sizes that are needed to understand fluid flow in reservoir rocks.
Until now, commercially available technology has only been able to provide high resolution imaging for very small sample sizes. Such small samples do not resemble actual rock samples close enough to mimic reservoir scale rock fabrics.

The new nano CT scanner has a resolution of one billionth of a metre (one nanometre) and can be applied to samples that are 40 times larger than normal, making studies of real-world problems possible.
"The development of a new nano CT scanner is a world-class technology solution that further strengthens our applied research and technology development efforts and our commitment to safely and efficiently unlocking the Al Shaheen oilfield and delivering the greatest value to Qatar," Lewis Affleck, Managing Director, MOQ said yesterday.

Many oil reservoirs in the Middle East consist of low permeability, very fine-grained carbonate rocks in which the fluid-filled pores are so small that they require technologies with nanometre-scale resolution to be studied in detail. This requirement drove the development of nano CT by Maersk oil Qatar and Australian National University.

Abdulrahman Al Emadi, Head of Maersk Oil Research Technology Centre (MO-RTC) said, "The new CT nano scanner technology is key to unlocking an extra layer of potential from tight carbonate fields and specifically, Al Shaheen, which is recognised as one of the most challenging tight- carbonate offshore oilfields in the world.
MO-RTC focuses on research that creates practical and applicable solutions for streamlining production at Al Shaheen, focusing on improved oil recovery, enhanced oil recovery, the marine environment and digital core technology.